http://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/the-sublime/what-is-the-sublime-r1109449
The word Sublime means ” of very great excellence or beauty.” The History of ideas of Sublime has a deeper meaning that leads to something truly extraordinary. For artists throughout History the sublime is an expression. The Sublime can be many things: a judgement, a feeling a state of mind and a response to art and nature. The word Sublime comes originates from two Latin terms, the preposition sub, meaning below or up to and the noun for lintel, which is the heavy wooden or stone beam that holds the weight of a wall above a doorway. Therefore the word is a connotation to push towards something above you. In the seventeenth century the word Sublime was used was referred to as something that is raised, set high up and exalted, such as buildings or people. In 1700, an additional definition rose which was the sublime in writing, nature, art and human contact. It was an exalted status that goes beyond normal experience, or beyond the reach of human understanding. The Sublime was generally regarded as beyond comprehension and beyond measurement.
It was at this time that artist became interested in the word Sublime. Visual artists tried to represent it, and they tried to paint the sensation that we experience when words fail or when we find ourselves beyond the limits of reason. Some examples of these painters were William Hogarth who painted Satan, Sin and Death (A Scene from Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’)c.1735–40, and Henry Fuseli who painted Lady Macbeth Seizing the Daggers ?exhibited 1812.
Sublime artist could not simply follow the rules but instead needed to experience what existed above and beyond rules on the realm of artistic imagination. Many critics said “that the sublime is not only desirable but is indeed the highest level of artistic attainment” In a book called The Sublime by Simon Morley, he talks about the word Sublime and the technical aspects behind it. The book begins with a quote from Thomas Weiskel from the book The Romantic Sublime. He says “The essential claim of the Sublime is that man can, in feeling and speech, transcend the human. What, if anything, lies beyond the human – God or the gods, the daemon or Nature – is matter for great disagreement.” He is giving his interpretation of what he believes the Sublime to be. It is about going beyond human understanding, reaching new heights of astounding beauty. The concept of Sublime has been edited throughout history and within the book The Sublime, Morley discuses what the definition is now. He talks about how the word Sublime was used in the 18th century when it was created in relation to the arts to describe aspects of nature that install wonder, such as mountains, waterfalls and stormy seas. He then goes on to discuss how this use of Sublime is now being used to to express the power of technology and raw material. This can be characterized as contemporary sublime. Contemporary artists haves re-created and extended what the term sublime means. They have looked at and combined earlier traditions as well as engaging in more modern aspects in our society. They no longer look at the word Sublime as an expression of nature but also as a representation in modern science. A new and more complex way of using Sublime is to describe the scale and complexity of the capitalist-industrial system and also in terms of technology.
Anish Kapoor is a contemporary artist born 12 March 1954. He was born in Bombay, but lives and works in London. Kappor became known for his geometric or biomorphic sculptures using simple materials such as granite, limestone, marble, pigment and plaster. His sculptures are simple, curved forms that usually brightly coloured. Within his work he explores the relationship between matter and non-matter. He does this by experimenting with both free-standing sculptural works and ambitious installations. In 2002, Anish Kapoor created an installation in Tate Modern in London. The installation was 150 meters long and ten storeys high. The sculpture is called Marsyas. The title is inspired by the Greek myth captured in Titian’s 1576 painting. Within the painting the satyr is being flayed alive by Apollo for playing the flute better than the God. Here is the painting below replicating the scene that inspired Kapoor. 
Th sculpture by Kapoor consists of three huge steel rings joined together by a single span of PVC membrane. Two of the rings are positioned vertically at either end of the Turbine Hall, while the third is suspended parallel to the bridge running through the center of it. The PVC coats have a deep red colour that connects like a skin, recreating the myth and symbolizing it in a physical bodily like presence.
I have used Anish Kapoor as an example of a contemporary artist because he is exploring the relationship between certain concepts of Sublime. He is using the traditional representations of the word through the painting of Marsyas as the inspiration for his sculpture. He is combining this with the more modern, contemporary connotations of the word by creating this huge sculpture using modern technology and materials. These two very different examples of one event shows how much art has progressed and extended its ways of representing things through technology and with more complexity.
This same thing has happened with the term Sublime through the different periods. The modern day definition of the term Sublime is something of “great excellence or beauty”. 
When you are describing a situation or scene as Sublime it is more then something that is beautiful, it also contains a sense of fear, something so unique and powerful that you become fearful of it. An example of this is when you are face to face with a lion. This situation is Sublime because its powerful witnessing something you’ve never experienced before, but at the same time its daunting because its a dangerous situation to be in.
The Photographer Rinko Kawauchi’s series contains a sense of Sublime within them. In particular a series called Ametsuchi created in 2013. The title, Amersuchi is created of two Japanese charcters meaning “heaven and earth”. Within the series, Kawauchi combines iomages of distant constellations and tiny figures lost within landscapes, as well photographs of a traditional style of controlled-burn farming. In this the cycle of cultivation and recovery span decades and generations. This series in particular contains a grasp of Sublime because the event of burning a dry grass field is extraordinary to witness, yet at the same time extremely daunting because its a dangerous event and could easily become out of control. In my opinion this is the best use of the term Sublime. It is a vast change of representation of the term from the Barouque Sublime.
